K-State Presents Youth Animal Science Learning Opportunity

High school students can apply now for the Kansas State University Animal Sciences Leadership Academy’s 2020 class. MANHATTAN, Kan. – Students from across the country with an interest in the livestock industry and related careers can apply now for the Kansas State University Animal Sciences Leadership Academy (KASLA). The academy, which is celebrating its twelfth year, is an intensive four-day educational experience designed to enhance the leadership skills and animal science knowledge of…

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Burning Your Bottom Line: How Hot Hay Changes Forage Quality

Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator Testing forage quality of your hay, whether it’s your own or purchased, is a critical first step to optimizing hay use. Photo credit Troy Walz. Hay put up too wet can lead to a number of issues, most notably mold and heat.  Moisture keeps otherwise dormant microbes and fungi active, decreasing forage quality and creating heat.  Too much heat can actually create a risk of combustion.  However, even…

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2020 Cover Your Acres Conference highlights plants, people

Agronomic and economic issues to be addressed at 17th annual conference COLBY, Kan. –Producers, consultants, and experts will gather for the 17th annual Cover Your Acres Winter Conference on January 14-15, at the Gateway Civic Center in Oberlin, Kansas. The conference is a joint venture between K-State Research and Extension and conference sponsors. “Economics is big on everyone's mind right now,” says Lucas Haag, an agronomist with K-State Research and Extension’s Northwest Area…

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Differences Between High-, Medium-, and Low-Profit Cow-Calf Producers: An Analysis of 2014-2018 Kansas Farm Management Association Cow-Calf Enterprise – A Review

Good production with cost control differentiated the most profitable producers from those that were the least profitable. Photo credit Troy Walz. Listen to a discussion of the content in this article on this episode of the BeefWatch podcast. You can subscribe to new episodes in iTunes or paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/unlbeefwatch into your podcast app. This study by Whitney Bowman, Dustin L. Pendell Ph.D. and Kevin L. Herbel can be found at the Kansas State…

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Use the Numbers (correctly) this Bull Sale Season

Matt Spangler, UNL Associate Professor and Beef Genetics Extension Specialist This bull sale season do not make the process more complex than it really needs to be. Photo credit Troy Walz. This bull sale season, profit-minded cattle producers will utilize expected progeny differences (EPD) and economic selection indices when selecting their next group of bulls. These tools are far more accurate at predicting the average difference in offspring than visual appraisal or actual…

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As World Celebrates New Year, American Cattlemen Celebrate New Trade Deals

(NCBA) — National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston issued the following statement regarding the new trade deals with Japan and the European Union (EU), which go into effect on New Years Day: “As the clock struck midnight and revelers around the world popped champagne and toasted the new year, American cattle producers had two big reasons to celebrate. That’s because the New Year brings new opportunities and better access to two of…

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A Strong Finish to the Year

Stephen R. Koontz, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics – Colorado State University Without a doubt, the cattle markets are closing the year far stronger than I expected.  Live cattle futures have pushed into new highs and cash fed cattle prices are back to tracking the price levels and seasonal patterns of last year.  There were some unique market drivers that I discussed last month.  Most are still present, are not typical, and…

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Ag conference offers cutting-edge, practical applications for technology

The Kansas Agricultural Technologies Conference takes place Jan. 16-17 in Junction City JUNCTION CITY, Kan. – Technology changes rapidly in every aspect of life. For farmers, keeping up with all changes in equipment, analysis methods and best practices can make a major difference in their productivity and, ultimately, their bottom line. From aerial crop-monitoring drones to driverless tractors, the present and future of Kansas agriculture takes center stage at the Kansas Agricultural Technologies…

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Trade and Animal Health Practices: Are they paying?

Dr. Elliott Dennis, Assistant Professor, Livestock Marketing Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln This past year has seen several important trade agreements agreed to which will directly benefit the beef complex. The Japanese-U.S. trade deal will effectively lower tariffs for 90% of beef commodities from 38.5% to 9% between 2019 and 2033. The European Union-U.S. trade deal will increase the quota limit of hormone free beef for the U.S.…

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Was this the year you expected or hoped for?

Chris Penrose, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Morgan Co. (originally published in The Ohio Cattleman) I now have been writing articles in this column for around 25 years and I am always trying to come up with something different and beneficial for beef producers around the state. As I thought about a topic, with age and experience, we also gain perspective. For those of us that have been in the beef business…

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